MY SECOND VICTIM THIS HALLOWEEN is
And it's her birthday!
Happy Birthday, Christine!
Thanks for agreeing to be part of the fun.
Thanks for agreeing to be part of the fun.
Without further ado here is Christine's
Halloween Interview & Flash Fiction
Challenge
1.
You're born on Halloween and have the ghostly
evil super powers of one of the following: The Ghost from Poltergeist, The
Frankenstein Monster, The Mummy, The most Evil of Witches, The Devil himself,
Freddy Kruger, Pumpkin Head, Michael from Halloween, or Jason from Friday the
13th. Alternatively, if you prefer, pick one of your own.
Otherwise, tell us which one you would choose and why? No friendly ghosts
allowed! You're to wreak havoc in this scenario!
I
would have the powers of the most evil of witches. I have the bump in my nose
and the mole. I should get the powers to go along with it! Witches look just
like the every day person. I'd blend in and none would suspect a timid woman of
such awesomely wicked deeds!
2.
The Zombie Apocalypse is
going to occur this Halloween and for 48 hours, the world is thrown into chaos.
Live through it and consider yourself lucky, you've been warned. What is your
first step, especially as no one else knows or believes you? Do you leave
family behind and seek shelter to ride it out, or do you try to save your
family? How and why?
I
would save my family, of course. I must have a child to pass on my awesome
witchy powers to! Real zombies are slow and I have a strong stomach. Chop,
chop, chop! I'd find us a secure place with lots of food stuff to hold up like
a school cafeteria. The most frightening part of this question is that I have
thought about it before and made a plan!
3.
Because of the time of
your birth, (see the 1st question) the angels have decided to
forgive your sins and are offering to remedy one evil that now exists in the
world, but only one! Which would you choose and why?
I
don't know if this counts as one, but I'm making it one because the angels
won't argue with me about it: crimes against children. No person may ever
commit any horrible act upon a child ever again. How much better would our
world be if our children were truly cared for and safe? Then imagine those
children growing up and what wonderful things they would do without the weight
of childhood horrors upon them.
4. Why is Halloween your
favorite holiday, or not your favorite, and if it isn't why did you participate
in this query? Come on; tell us your biggest most secret Halloween fantasy!
Halloween
is absolutely my favorite holiday. I love dressing up, and even more so, I love
seeing other people in costume. The one day of the year where we can haunt our
neighbors and run alongside our supernatural friends in the dark. My biggest
Halloween fantasy is to have my whole family wear themed costumes. But too bad
my husband has no interest. He's the Scrooge of Halloween! Can I zap him with
my witchy powers?
Now the fun part: Finish
the story. I've given you the first 100 words. Provide us with the rest, but
please hold the number to 750 words or less. The winner will receive a $10
Amazon gift card. The contest will be judged by author, Nancy Lynn Jarvis. The winner will be posted on Halloween!
DESPERATION HOLLER
Jerry
sauntered along Desperation Holler Road that earlier echoed with the excited
shouts of ghosts and ghouls as the children scrambled from house to house in
colorful and frightening costumes.
Dusk
dissolved into the blackest of nights as the little monsters disappeared into
the shelter of the brightly lit houses with their chocolate goodies.
Jerry
smiled, even suppressed laughter, because he knew there was no refuge, not in
Desperation Holler on this most evil of Halloweens.
Concealed
by the dark limbs of deformed trees and invasive ivy, the innocuous little
cabin looked abandoned, but Jerry knew better.
The
witches' abode . . . never changing. The roof sagged as if a
giant had sat upon it and fetid fungus grew between the poorly stacked logs.
Home.
Jerry pushed open the front door and strode in.
“Hello Mom! I'm back.”
A tiny flame flickered in the darkness followed
by a dozen more. A squat woman with tangled red hair and a long dress made of
skins rushed forward. She hugged him around the middle. “My boy! So happy you
came. So happy... What happened? You looked wretched. Too clean.”
Chuckling, Jerry gave his mother a squeeze and
gestured to his clothes. “What these? Clothes of the mundanes. Thought I'd
dress up as one of them tonight.”
His mother cackled and a raspier laugh joined
in. A second woman shuffled out of the shadows to embrace Jerry. “You always
make me laugh, darling. We miss you.”
“Nana.” Jerry hugged her and swung her around
like a child. Her frizzy white hair tickled his chin. “I miss you too. But
there is so much misery to make in the world. This town is too small for me.”
“Not tonight, though, eh?” Nana coughed and
flicked her hand to the great stone fireplace. A roaring fire ignited, heating
the contents of the cauldron. The witches hurried to gather ingredients from a
nearby table.
“I couldn't miss tonight. Not this Halloween.”
Jerry rubbed his hands together and knelt before the fire. All those children
thinking the monsters were just make-believe. Tonight they would learn
otherwise.
“We counted on it.” His mother raised a cast
iron pan and smashed it down upon Jerry's head. A sickening crunch was followed
by a meaty thud as he toppled over to the floor. She nudged him with her toe to
make certain he was dead. “He's too clean.”
“Don't matter. Rub some grave soil and spider
venom on him if you want. It'll be all the same when we cut him up and put him
in the pot.” Nana handed her daughter a butcher knife. “Our desperate soul.”
“So desperate to wreak evil, to please us, and
yet never quite making it. I blame his father. He tasted too much like
chicken.” Jerry's mother sighed. “At least he's good for something. Tonight his
soul will release the fiends that will bring living nightmares to Desperation
Holler.”
“Stop yakking and start cutting.”
*****
CHECK OUT CHRISTINE'S LATEST!
CHECK OUT CHRISTINE'S LATEST!
Blurb:
Erin Driscol works the perfect job consoling fellow
demons by feeding off their grief at Putzkammer & Sons Funeral Home.
When fledgling vampire Nicolas Reese comes to Erin for help, she learns the truth behind the legends and hides him from his sire and the vampire hunters who seek him. But when the Putzkammers begin to die one by one, Erin is caught between her act of kindness and the need to save her adopted family. Only by facing her own personal demons can she stop the slaughter and still rescue Nicolas from his dark fate.
When fledgling vampire Nicolas Reese comes to Erin for help, she learns the truth behind the legends and hides him from his sire and the vampire hunters who seek him. But when the Putzkammers begin to die one by one, Erin is caught between her act of kindness and the need to save her adopted family. Only by facing her own personal demons can she stop the slaughter and still rescue Nicolas from his dark fate.
*****
Christine is a writer, geek mom, and ghost hunter
wannabe. She grew up in a tiny, creaky house beside a cemetery. She spent her
days playing amongst the gravestones and battling the closet monster at night.
When her little monster is in school, she hides in her cave writing. She's a
proud member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. She has one novel and several
novellas and short stories published. Find out more about Christine at http://christinerains.net/
CONGRATULATIONS!
SHANNON LAWRENCE
YOU'VE WON A COPY
OF BLOOD & SORROW!
THANKS, CHRISTINE!
Excellent answers and what a
great flash - Poor Jerry!
Help Christine celebrate her birthday,
leave a birthday comment
and you could win a copy of
Of Blood & Sorrow!
*****
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CONGRATULATIONS!
SHANNON LAWRENCE
YOU'VE WON A COPY
OF BLOOD & SORROW!
